The second finalist was interviewed Wednesday by the Tecumseh Board of Education. Sean McNatt, superintendent of Breckenridge Community Schools, is one of three people seeking to become the new superintendent of Tecumseh Public Schools.

Michael Osborne, superintendent of Hudson and Morenci schools, will be interviewed at 7 p.m. today in the administrative services building, 212 N. Ottawa St. Osborne is also scheduled to interview for superintendent of Holly Area Schools on Wednesday, Feb. 20. Kelly Coffin, assistant superintendent and director of instructional services at the Lenawee Intermediate School District, was interviewed Tuesday.

The board has set a special meeting for 7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 20, to decide the next step it will take. President Ed Tritt said Tuesday that step could be a site visit if the board feels that is necessary.

After spending the day meeting with the school district staff and the community, McNatt sat down with the board. He said he was impressed with the community.

“There is a great deal of pride in the community for the school district and the culture,” he said. “I don’t always get that same feeling out of Lansing. I don’t think our legislators feel that same sense of pride in public education.”

The second round of questions was more specific, designed to help the board learn the candidate’s style and leadership ability. Questions dealt with the direction public education is taking and how the new superintendent would help guide the school district.

“I’ve done very well with the finances of the Breckenridge school district. I’ve been a very good steward of that,” McNatt said. “But it is not just ‘I,’ because I can’t do everything. It is a team effort.”

McNatt said if hired, he would be in Tecumseh full time by July 1. He will spend the month meeting with staff, community leaders and board members. He favors working with a strategic plan, noting Tecumseh’s plan was dated 2005.

“I would want to find out where the board is on that plan,” McNatt said. “It becomes a tool not only for me to get to know the organization, but for all of us to have the same vision.”

The first three months of his tenure would consist of a lot of questions and a great deal of listening. Once he gets information and a feel for the school district, McNatt said he intends to put a plan of action together to achieve one goal.

“My vision is each child shall receive a quality education from Tecumseh schools,” McNatt said. “We can start breaking down and determine how to accomplish that with the nuts and bolts.”

Page 2 of 2 - Saying he is uncomfortable promoting himself, McNatt said he prefers collaboration and working as a team. He said a superintendent has to use different styles of leadership to help students and teachers succeed.

“I was already promoting Team Breckenridge,” he said. “This is a team. We act as a team, we have success as a team, and we work on our failures together.”

A superintendent has to be involved in the community and develop strong relationships with the community and business leaders, McNatt said. Plus, he or she has to be able to take advantage of the diverse talents and strengths of school board members.

In recent years, a steady exodus of students from Tecumseh schools has occurred. When asked how he would stem that, McNatt said he had to deal with the same situation in Breckenridge, which had declining enrollment for about eight straight years. He discovered the reasons were varied, but made it a practice to hold a face-to-face meeting with the student and family to learn the reasons for a transfer.

“When a student starts to transfer, I would meet with the parents and ask them, ‘Why are you leaving our school district?’ If I couldn’t meet with them one-on-one, I would call them,” McNatt said. “If a student is going to transfer, they will have to come and see me.”

Mike McAran is retiring at the end of the school year, ending a 47-year career, the last eight as Tecumseh superintendent.